Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

निहंति दुष्टसंघातान्महाबलपराक्रमा । वायुस्कंधानि सप्तापिश्रृणुयद्वत्स्थितान्यपि

Transliteration

nihaṃti duṣṭasaṃghātānmahābalaparākramā | vāyuskaṃdhāni saptāpiśrṛṇuyadvatsthitānyapi

Translation

Uy lực và dũng mãnh vô song, nàng tiêu diệt mọi bầy lũ ác nhân. Nay hãy lắng nghe về bảy “trụ đỡ” của gió nữa—chúng được an lập ra sao.

Word by Word

• nihaṃti: slay, destroy
• nihaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-han (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — 'they slay' (or honorific plural)

• duṣṭa-saṃghātān: wicked hordes
• duṣṭa-saṃghātān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣṭa + saṃghāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — accusative; समास: दुष्टानां संघाताः (assemblies of the wicked)

• mahā-bala-parākramā: of great strength and prowess
• mahā-bala-parākramā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + bala + parākrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — adjective (as epithet of devī); समास: महच्च बलं च पराक्रमश्च यस्याः (great strength and valor)

• vāyu-skaṃdhāni: wind-masses, gust-bodies
• vāyu-skaṃdhāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu + skaṃdha (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — nominative/accusative; समास: वायोः स्कन्धाः (masses/sections of wind)

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — numeral adjective agreeing with स्कंधानि

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-कार) — 'also/even'

• śṛṇu: hear
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Injunction/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन — 'hear!'

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — relative pronoun ('which/that')

• vat: like, as
• vat: Sambandha (Comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vat (अव्यय/तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमानवाचक) — 'like/as'

• sthitāni: standing, stationed
• sthitāni: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — 'standing/placed' (agreeing with vāyuskaṃdhāni)

• api: also, even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-कार) — 'also/even'

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Devī, radiant and formidable, strikes down hordes of the wicked; the narration pivots to reveal seven colossal wind-supports positioned through the cosmos like invisible pillars.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (implied)
• Vāyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine both protects by removing evil and sustains the cosmos through ordered principles such as the vāyu-skaṃdhas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the passage shifts into cosmological instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces a doctrinal/cosmological teaching about the seven vāyu-skaṃdhas.